Tangent
by JadedEcho
Summary: An AU fic. A threat to the planet is immanent, and it's a race against to to avert it. However, the executives at Shinra have their own ideas on what this truely means and a certain mercenary is determined to intervine to her own ends.
1. Prologue

__

Prologue

He was here.

The hunter smiled at the sky. He was here, in this city. It was the beginning of what she had hoped for. All they had waited for since then would finally come to pass. The vengeance of all those empty deaths...

They had both come the same long way to get here, hunter and hunted. The thought had not crossed her mind before, but she had the time to consider it now. All the way from the icy mountains of Nibelheim, where all had burned, to the floating city of Midgar. It was the same here as it had been in their old home. The people on the top plate were engulfed in decadence, and the ones in the slums were choking on their own filth. Exactly the same as the end of their home. It should have been expected, she thought critically. What good could come from this unnatural place? Humans were the descendants of the Ancients. They weren't meant to live in the sky and not be able to see the stars.

It didn't matter that much. She chastised herself for thinking of it and not keeping watch for him. They'd all die. The calamity from the skies...the return of Mother would wipe them from the planet. Only three matters remained before it would come to pass. 

_She would kill him with her own hands._

*

Frustrated, Tseng turned away from his view of the street. He still hadn't seen what he was looking for yet. High atop the slums on from his perch on an apartment building, he couldn't possibly have missed it. A woman lay in wait in an alley below him, obviously a bounty hunter, but she had done nothing yet to irritate him yet. He still couldn't see _them_ yet, and that was what bothered him. It was past the time limit. He wouldn't put it past Reno, but Jessie was normally so meticulous about these things, especially now...

His partner chuckled. "You don't need to worry yet. It's only been a couple of minutes past the deadline."

He smiled wryly at Rude. "Is it that bad? I was hoping I'd be able to keep it under control."

Rude laughed, the noise cutting through the cold air like a knife. He was grateful for the noise. It had been becoming too quiet lately. "You never could manage to hide your expressions well. Even when you were a Turk." He paused to rub his hands together. "It's cold tonight."

"I don't mind it. It makes it harder to smell the Mako. It gets worse when it's hot... but I'm rambling. Of course you know that. You've lived in Midgar longer than I have." Tseng coughed raspily. His years in the city were beginning to take a toll on him. He should have left when he had the chance.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. It comes and goes. I've been meaning-"

The explosion from the reactor interrupted him. Rude whistled lowly, looking up at the flames licking the sky. "I guess you got what you were waiting for."

Tseng grinned. He never thought he'd be happy to see something like that, and breathed in the smell of sulfur and burning Mako. "Do you think they're alright?"

Rude nodded. "Of course. You know that as well as I do. That's why you picked them. Reno's good at this sort of thing. He know this city and the reactors like the back of hand, and Jessie's the same."

"He had his doubts about her." Tseng sighed. "I did too, for a little while. It's hard to know where Shinra employees' loyalties lie, especially with someone in such a high position. But we needed a hacker..." He surveyed the land, watching people flee from the reactor. The bounty hunter was standing her ground. One in blue however, was not running away, but heading straight into it. "Hmph. Looks like the president's sent out his lapdog again."

Rude smirked, running a hand along the barrel of his gun. "Cloud Strife again? Want me to shoot him? He wouldn't think to look up here."

"No. There are too many witnesses. He'll probably go and get himself killed in a mission someday soon anyways." It still burned at him to see that man in the uniform that was once his. President Shinra's standards must have sunk so low. It was advantageous to them to have such a fool working for the enemy, but still...

"Don't let it get to you." Rude shrugged. "It's not worth it to get involved with the Turks. You know. There are still other people on the force who have the skills that Strife doesn't."

He squinted, and saw two figures run out of the reactor. Reno was dragging Jessie by the wrist and from the looks of it, she was putting up quite a struggle. He knocked over the bounty hunter as he ran past, sending her sword falling to the ground, and dashed past Cloud Strife, heading in the direction of the train. "Jessie and Reno just got out."

"We should get to the train then." Rude finished. "Elena should have some drinks ready for us when we get back to Seventh Heaven. We should celebrate tonight. It's our first step to taking down Shinra."

The Planet should rest a little easier tonight, Tseng thought, and instantly realized what a stupid thought it was. It sounded like the same sort of nonsense that she would have said. He pushed the idea out of his mind. "Alright. Let's go." He smiled brightly. "We should have a toast once we get to the base- to the future of Avalanche."

*

Cloud Strife jogged determinedly towards the reactor. He may be a rookie in the Turks, but he was certain that Biggs was wrong for not bothering to send the Turks to the reactor. Soldier couldn't handle this like he could! The rebels needed to be taken alive. All Soldier knew how to do was slice and dice.

Well, he'd sure show Biggs. President Shinra would be very pleased if he brought the rebel scum to him. Maybe he'd get a promotion. Or an apology from Biggs for yelling at him. Either one would be fine.

Two people came running out to the burning reactor, a gangly looking redhead pulling a girl along with him. "Halt!" Cloud drew his gun. That should have made them stop, at least according to his training. They were still coming though. "You're in violation of martial law! You're under arrest! Ah- I'll shoot! I have a gun! It's right here! I'll-"

"Sorry, I can't stop!" he yelled, knocking down a woman who was in the alley. "Whoops, didn't see ya there! It's my wife, she's injured! She'll be fine though, just gotta get her home and let her get started on dinner!" he grinned at the Turks puzzled countenance. "And you, sir, are doing a fine job of reading straight from the manual. I'd salute you if my hands were free. SOLDIER should be coming, so don't worry about us! Bye!" he ran into the crowd, and Cloud couldn't discern his position. Not that he could fire into the crowd anyway. Innocent people could be hurt.

"Dammit!" It was just his luck to mess up like that. He could have at least called an ambulance for the guy's wife.

"Feh..." The woman brushed herself off. "I wouldn't worry about it. You must be-  
_Familiar. I've seen you before._

"-Cloud Strife."

"Yeah." He shrugged offering her a hand. "Cloud Strife, of the Turks." Not if Biggs has his say, he thought dejectedly.

"Thank you." She bowed lightly, and picked up her sword, swinging it in a figure eight. "Do you know what happened?"

"Umm...not yet. Watch the news tonight, I'm sure it'll be there. Don't worry though, Shinra will catch the people who did this. It's not going to happen again. Not if the Turks have anything to say about it!"

"Well, that's certainly impressive." Her voice sounded faintly sarcastic, but the expression in her eyes looked earnest. Those eyes... They glowed, just like someone in SOLDIER. "Excuse me? Is there something on my face?"

"Huh?" He shook his head, realizing that he had been staring. "Oh, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to seem rude, it just... Your eyes, they're very pretty."

"Thank you." She sheathed her sword, moving around that heavy thing easily. "I was... in SOLDIER. But that was a long time ago." A flash of anger crossed those beautiful green pools, but disappeared quickly. She glanced to the right. "You'd better go. I think your commander wants you."

He turned. Biggs was off screaming in the distance. He could barely make out the words, but he looked furious. "Yeah. I probably should. There's not much left to do here."

"We'll meet again, I hope."

He raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Yeah, that'd be nice. The Turks are headed out for the Temple of the Ancients tomorrow, but I'll be back soon. I- I mean that-"

"CLOUD! GODAMMIT, WE HAVE TO GO!"

"It was nice meeting you!" He waved, heading towards their car. She watched him get in the back, and the car sped down the street, faster than it should have in a residential area. 

__

Cloud. We meet again.


	2. Chapter 1

__

1

Seventh Heaven was a little bar and inn in the middle of Sector Seven. It had only opened up a few years ago, but it had already developed a loyal clientele of drunkards and the occasional Shinra employee, partly due to the tasty cooking skills of the owner Elena, but also the incredibly potent moonshine brewed in the basement. The "inn" part wasn't used so much, because there weren't many tourists who were interested in seeing the slums. Lately, it had come to serve another purpose.

"Welcome home." Elena smiled, whipping the table down with a dishrag. "I saw it all on the news. Did everything go well?" 

Rude nodded, throwing his jacket into the closet. Elena was funny that way. She could be quite sweet when she wanted to be, but he'd also seen the way she could knock out a drunk when he got too rowdy. It was that fighting spirit that made him marry her. He hated seeing her waste her talents running the bar, but she insisted that money needed to be brought in somehow. Still... 

"Do you want anything? I've been trying out this new drink... No one else wanted to try it." 

He wondered if that was something to worry about. "Alright. But I'm not very hungry, so don't take that as a sign that the food is bad."

"Just a tiny bite will do." She turned to the stove and heated up a burner. "It'll be ready in a little bit."

"Oh man, you guys are making me sick." Reno slammed the door behind him and sat down on a barstool, swinging it around. "This is why I'm never getting married. All this mushy shit-"

"Hello to you too, Reno." Elena said shortly. She'd already opened a can of beer for him and swung it down the bar to him. "How'd it go?"

He opened his mouth, but was interrupted by another slam of the door. He grinned seeing Jessie stalk in, followed by an amused looking Tseng. "Ugh! You're supposed to hold the door for a lady! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!"

"You're no lady, sweetheart," he snickered, gulping down his drink. He quickly continued, seeing her indignant expression. "So where was I? It went okay. We didn't run into SOLDIER-"

"Only because I turned off the alarm you tripped-"

"Don't try to talk your way out of it. We would have been a lot faster if you weren't so clumsy." Reno said scathingly.

"I got my foot caught. And I did apologize, which is more than you've done."

"Stop it." Tseng said loudly. "You made it out, and that's what matters."

"I guess so, but-" Tseng glared at Reno, which silenced him. 

"Are you going to be going out tomorrow?" Elena questioned. Some curry flew out of the pan, and she licked it off her fingers. "Sorry. I'm almost done here, and then you can start your planning."

"You can hear this. In fact, I'd like you to go with us tomorrow night."

"Really?" she barely managed to hide her enthusiasm. "I would, if it's not any trouble. I can close up early, no one will really mind, if that's alright, I mean."

Rude shrugged. "It's dangerous."

"You know I'll be alright." She smiled, stirring the food a little faster than she had before. "So what's going on?"

"Well..." Jessie pulled her laptop out of her pack. With a touch of the mouse, the screen sprang to life, displaying a picture of the Midgar train route. "The President's gone over his plans for a security breech before. Once power is restored, there should be new security measures in place. Metal detectors, new checkpoints, and more police at the stations and on trains. You don't need to worry about the police, since none of you really stand out in a crowd, at least not in sector seven. The metal detector shouldn't be a problem either, because I've already modified the bomb. All that's left is the checkpoints..." she began typing quickly. "There's been no word from President Shinra yet, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to make your new ID cards. I was hoping they'd be a little more on top of things, but you know how executives are..." she looked up, expecting a laugh, but seeing only bemused expressions, she quickly moved on. "There's no need to worry though, I'm almost one hundred percent certain that there won't be any problems in the Mako reactor."

Reno downed the rest of his drink. "Whatever. This is all way over my head. I'm going to bed, fill me in on the mission tomorrow morning." He pushed back his chair, and walked up the stairs, weaving only slightly.

"Thank you for your help." Jessie muttered, nearly inaudibly. Reno smirked, but said nothing, continuing up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

"It's all done." Elena spooned the curry onto a plate. "I guess Reno wasn't hungry. Would you like any, Jessie? I don't know if it's any good or not yet, but you're welcome to try it..."

"No thanks, I- I've got to get home. I need to be up early tomorrow." She rubbed her forehead. She could already feel a headache coming on.

"I apologize for Reno's behavior. I trained him, it was my fault." Tseng said quietly. "He's unruly a times, but he doesn't mean to harm anyone."

"Please, it doesn't mean anything to me. I'd just like to get home."

"Payment?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"He reached in his pocket. "A thousand gil, as promised. I'll throw in three hundred for the ID cards. I know you'll get them to us on time."

She took it and stuffed it into her pocket roughly. "I'm surprised you trust me with this."

He smiled. "Your father's told me a lot enough about you to let me trust you. Dyne's a good man. He's quite proud of you."

"He told me you were friends in school." Her father... She hadn't thought about him in a while. He'd become so pathetic since the accident. "I can't take all of this. You told me you were saving up for Reno-"

"Take it." He said firmly. "We agreed upon this a long time ago, and you've earned it."

She nodded. He wasn't going to accept it back. "I'll send it to my father then. He needs it more than I do." She turned to Elena and Rude. "Goodnight. I'll take you up on that food next time."

"Oh, it's okay!" She was feeding it by the spoon to Rude, giggling incessantly. "I don't mind, we'll probably- hey, that was a bite!- ah- we'll eat this all ourselves." 

Her parents had once done silly little things like that. She smiled at the memory. "See you soon."

Tseng stood up. "Will you be alright on your own? This isn't like the top plate at night."

"I think so." She patted the holster at her hips. "I have my revolver. I'll be fine."

He sat slowly. "Alright. Call in if you need anything."

"I will. Goodnight, and thank you." She slipped out the door quietly.

*

"It's too early to be leaving for a mission." Cloud stated sullenly. He still hadn't gotten over Biggs' yelling at him the night before. "President Shinra should know that we're not alert enough at this hour. The coffee's not even good..."

"I dunno Cloud," Wedge was eagerly partaking of the doughnuts left in the back of the van. "Being a Turk's a pretty sweet deal, the way I see it. Free food, free board, free dry cleaning, it's all good." 

"Quiet!" Biggs' said sharply, leaning back in his car seat. "I have a headache... You all talk too much."

"Awww...." Wedge cooed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is poor-widdle Biggs-wiggsy tired? You always get so cranky-wanky when you don't have your juice in the morning."

"Shut up!" he shouted, tilting the chair back to a horizontal position and turning over. "You're not helping."

"It's okay, I always get sick on cars like this too. But this one's really big, and Barret's doing a real nice job driving it." Cloud added hastily.

"Cloud," Biggs said, sounding annoyed. "I don't need your sympathy. Do you have any idea what we're headed here for?"

"Er- you haven't given us a briefing yet, sir."

"He's right." Wedge agreed. 

"Ugh... Fine, it's not like I could sleep here anyways." He jerked the seat up, and swiveled it to face them. "We're going to the Temple of the Ancients to look for the Black Materia. President Shinra was quite adamant that we find it quickly."

"Explorers cleared out the temple a long time ago." Wedge pointed out. "There's nothing left to be found. It's a tourist trap. My sister went with her school a year ago, they're leading kids through it daily."

"I know. That's why this whole thing is pissing me off. We're being wasted looking for artifacts that may not even exist. Terrorists are attacking Midgar, and he sends us off going on field trips with middle schoolers." Biggs said disgustedly.

"I dunno..." Cloud said slowly. "It might be fun. At least we won't be in much danger."

"Dammit, I hate dealing with rookies." Biggs grumbled. 

"You were once a rookie yourself, and-" Wedge was cut off as the truck halted to a sharp stop. "Barret! Stop a little more smoothly next time!"

"Shuddup foo! I ain't gettin paid for smoothness!"

"Everybody out." Biggs commanded, swinging open the door. 

The Temple of the Ancients was a large pyramid-like structure, surrounded by groups of children and irritated looking chaperones. Near the entrance a souvenir stand was set up, with an ambitious young lady hawking overpriced trinkets. 

"Hey! You know you want this stuff! Remember your trip with a genuine Ancient rock! Or how bout this Christmas ornament? It's a perfect addition to your tree! What? Well, we have dreidals too! Umm...This mog doll should be perfect for your little baby! Choose from red, white, or green! Oooo!" she began waving her arms erratically. "It's the Turks! The Turks, the Turks, the Turks!"

"I didn't know we had fans..." Wedge quipped, pushing his way through thee crowd. Cloud grinned in acknowledgment.

"Hey!" she ran up to the group, enthusiastically shaking hands. "Wow, it's such a thrill to meet you all! My name is Yuffie, your friendly neighborhood entrepreneur! Will you be going into the Temple? We've got a special going on guides today! Only 100 gil to be led in!"

"Please!" Biggs jerked his hand away from her grasp. "We don't need a guide. We're the _Turks_. Don't interfere with our work."

"Oh...But you need me! It's reaally dangerous in there! There's lot of frogs and stuff..."

"Thank you, but we're fine," Wedge cut in, before Biggs could issue a retort. "We're all well equipped for this, and I'm sure if we get lost, you can help us then."

"Aww..." she turned to Cloud. "What about you? I'm pretty good with a boomerang. Wouldn't you want this sexy broad to guide you through all that danger?"

"Ah- I have a girlfriend..." Cloud said, trying to inch away.

She took a step back and sniffed pathetically. "You don't want me?" Biggs nodded, and attempted to walk past her. "Fine! I know when I'm not wanted! Go and get lost and die, alone in the dark! I don't care! I hope that mercenary kills you! Yeah, I sure do!" she screamed, furiously. 

"What? What mercenary?" Biggs demanded. 

"There's someone in there already. I told her to stop, but she didn't listen. You can avoid making the same mistake by bringing me with you." She said stoutly.

"Dammit..." Biggs started running into the Temple. "Wedge, Cloud, come on!"

"Aw man! I can't run this fast!" Wedge panted.

"It's alright, we don't have much further." Cloud said encouragingly. He jogged easily after Biggs. All of that time he spent on the track in Midgar was well spent.

Once inside, Cloud stopped short. They'd reached a dead end. "Biggs? Where'd you go?"

He'd drawn his gun and was hidden behind a pillar. "Stay on your guard. It may be AVALANCHE."

"AVALANCHE?" Cloud repeated dumbly. "Why would they be here? It's not like there's much to bomb..."

"Don't ask me how they work! All they want to do is piss off Shinra, and they're doing a damn good job of it! Where's Wedge?"

"He was behind me. He couldn't keep up..." his voice trailed off. "You see anything?"

"I-"

"Yoo hoo! Did you forget about us?!"

"Damn." He looked up, seeing Wedge send him a helpless look. "Wedge? Why did you bring herwith you?"

Yuffie skipped in front of his view. "Oh, that's not very kind! I helped him with a complementary glass of water in a commemorative water bottle. Normally, I charge 10 gil for that, but because you seem to be a nice bunch of people, you get it for free! Now come on, I'll show you where that mercenary went." She leaned against the wall, tossing gil from hand to hand. "There's a lot of paths down here that tourists don't go on. Some of them aren't even cleared out yet. Without some help, you'll never catch up to her."

"Well, that settles it! Lead on, Yuffie!" Cloud said cheerfully.

"WHAT?" Biggs shouted incredulously. "You can't be serious! I am your commanding officer!"

"Come on, it can't do that much harm." Wedge added quickly. 

Yuffie continued skipping down the path the left. "All you Shinra people, you can never bring yourself to trust anyone. Can't you feel the luv in here? Love, peace, and happiness!"

"Good god... She's insane..." Biggs muttered.

"Besides," she smiled slyly. "You're here for the fabled Black Materia, aren't you?"

"What?" Biggs couldn't suppress his shock. "How do you know that?"

"Just a guess." She giggled. "I've got a good idea of the way there, but I've never gone all the way. It's way too dangerous for a little girl like me."

"Take us there." 

"Whatever you say." She shrugged. "It may not even be there, ya know. The mercenary was quite insistent that she be the one to take it."

Couple o' Notes- This seems to be a good place to plop my little spiel. The idea for this fic has been in my head for a really long time, but I've never really done much with it. I need to finish it though, so I'm writing this differently than I normally do. Ordinarily, I write things in a notebook, type it up, and do a couple of chapters before I put them on the net. With this one, I'm just typing it, doing quick editing, and posting. It may not be up to my usual "standard" ( but did I ever really have one? *snickersnort*) but hopefully I'll be able to finish it, unlike every single other long fic I have ever attempted. (*cough*Forsaken!*cough*)


	3. Chapter 2

_2_

            "The damage to the Sector 8 reactor is estimated to be 10 billion gil. Coupled with the maintenance we had already planned, the total monthly expenses for sector 8 come to 30 billion gil, fifteen percent more than any of the other reactors." Heidegger, head of Urban Development droned on. Jessie could already feel herself starting to nod off, and popped a mint into her mouth, hoping that it would keep her up for a few more minutes.

President Shinra waved a hand, cutting him off. "I'm aware of that. Go ahead with the repairs. We'll raise the Mako rates by five percent to compensate."

"Very well, sir." Heidegger nodded shortly, shuffling papers. "What are you planning to do about these rebels? They're destroying Midgar public property."

"AVALANCHE has claimed responsibility for it." Scarlet, head of Turks said sweetly. She had been sending coy looks at the president throughout the entire meeting. Jessie hated to think of how she had managed to get her position on the company, but it was obvious how she intended to advance within it. She had been clambering to be promoted to Head of Security for years.  She would probably get it the same way she'd gotten her last promotion...on her back. "Do you have any orders...?"

"A few." The President averted his eyes from her chest, and concentrated on his papers, looking slightly flushed. He managed to hide it well, and continued. "We suspect that they will be headed for more reactors tonight. I'd like some extra SOLDIERS stationed in all of Midgar's upper plate. This may be the chance to try out some of the new weapons that Reeve has been developing."

"You really think they're audacious enough to try for another reactor tonight?" Scarlet laughed, the high pitched sound grating on Jessie's ears. "Sir, you're overestimating them!"

He shrugged, smiling slightly. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Wouldn't it be more prudent to dedicate the Turks towards finding these rebels, rather than put the reactors at risk? Not that I'm questioning you-" Heidegger added quickly.

"The Turks are out on an important task." Scarlet said firmly. "They are not to be called back until the mission is finished. I assure you that it will be worth the wait."

"That's fine. I already have my suspicions about the location of these...people... but in the meantime, I'm calling back my son from Junon," President Shinra said slowly.         

"It's not necessary to summon Rufus," Scarlet said hastily. "Junon is the best place for the boy to be. The rebels don't seem to have any interest in attacking it."

"It's a father's job to look after his child," the president said, in a tone that was far from friendly. "And I want to make sure that my boy is keeping safe."

Jessie managed to conceal her shock. Reno wouldn't be happy with that decision.

"Is there anything else?" Clearly there was, judging by the disgruntled countenance of Heidegger, but Scarlet sent a scathing glance in his direction and he said nothing more. The president nodded, satisfied. "Very well. This meeting is adjourned."

He turned to Jessie as the two executives filed out. "Did you get all that?" 

She typed rapidly, and looked up. "Yes, sir. Would you like me to edit it now?"

"No. I'll attend to that myself later. Come on, there's so filing I need you to look up some records for me."

She wiped at her eyes tiredly. "What of, sir?"

"Former employees. Look up anyone who has quit or been fired within the past five years, run some background checks on them, and send them to me."

"Of course, sir. Right away."

*

Reno gazed upon the sky. You couldn't breathe here. Midgar had been smoggy as long as he could remember. He lit a cigarette, and began puffing smoke furtively, realizing the irony, but not caring about it. It felt like he hadn't been alone for a while.

Not since he'd been in Nibelheim, at least.

"You really shouldn't do that."

He jerked his head up, taken out of solitude. "Do you really have to creep up on me like that? It's making me paranoid."

Tseng deftly put out his cigarette with two fingers. "It's not healthy to smoke. Haven't you heard those announcements from the Science Department at Shinra?"

"Hey, you said everything Shinra told us was lies." He tossed the cigarette behind him. "Whatever. Where's Elena and Rude?"

"Inside, clearing a path. They'll page us in a few minutes."

"You sound so certain."

"I've no reason not to be."

"President Shinra's got to be on the lookout for us." Reno said lightly. "The old bastard's got nothing else to do but give us hell for what we did last night."

"I'm aware of that. Jessie's overridden the security for us, for fifteen minutes. So long as we don't attract any unwanted attention, we'll be all right. However, it's hard to do that when you're around," he said dryly, looking sideways at Reno.

He ignored it. "What are you gonna do when this one's over? You think Shinra's just gonna step aside and say it's time he stepped down? Blowing up a few reactors isn't going to stop him, when he can just make more."

"I know. Just trust me, all right? I don't think I've ever done anything to make you think otherwise."

"Yeah..." But what the hell am I supposed to do, he thought angrily. Tseng's been like a father to me, and I can't just screw him by walking off like that. "Hey, this is kinda random, but why'd you take me in like that? It's not something people do a lot. Most people don't go around randomly picking kids off the street unless they've got something else on their mind."

"I've told you this before. I wasn't just going to leave you there when you'd been beaten up so badly. Besides, I'd just quit the Turks. There wasn't much else for me to do."

_What exactly was going on back then?_

"So why are you asking about all this? Normally you don't talk so much when we're on a mission," he commented, smiling. "Has Rude been telling you things?"

"Nah. It's just-" His pager rattled in his pocket. "Forget it. Come on."

*

"Oooo, spooky." Yuffie feigned a shiver. "I've never been this far into the Temple

before."

"Please be quiet." Biggs said, for about the tenth time. "You'll give away our position, and I really don't want to fire off any guns when we're in such a small area."

"Yeah, yeah." She started skipping steps as she went down. "Let's sing a traveling song, or do the chocobo dance or something! I'm bored with you people!"

Wedge was chucking softly but didn't manage to hide it from Biggs, who glared at him. "I'm sorry sir, she's kind of funny. Reminds me of my sister, you know?"

Cloud pushed some debris aside as they continued downward. No one had cleared out this area yet. This mission might take longer than expected with all that stuff in their way. He really needed to get back to Midgar. He had a ticket to Loveless tonight, but it wouldn't be any good unless they got back by eight. He was really looking forward to seeing Tifa tonight too. To see her.... to hear her sing her song again...

"Could you keep it down up there?"

"Shit!" Biggs drew his gun, and looked downward anxiously. "Freeze! Put your hands behind your head, and don't move!"

"What is it?" Wedge nudged Yuffie aside and moved up, trying to see. "Biggs?"

Someone moved to the foot of the stairs. "Please! I would really like it if you could stay quiet. This is a holy place, you know."

It was a woman's voice. Cloud squinted, trying to see. "Who...who are you?"

"Don't you remember me?" She mounted up the stairs. "Cloud?"

Those eyes... It was the woman from the night before. "It's you! You followed us here?"

"You didn't make it difficult to, giving away your location like that."

"Cloud!" Biggs shouted incredulously. "You told this woman where we were supposed to be?"

"Ummm.... I didn't think she'd end up here..."

"CLOUD!" Biggs looked dangerously close to hitting him, if Yuffie hadn't skirted into his way.

"Excuse me, please. I had no intention of disrupting your task. Who am I to get in the way of Shinra Incorporated?" She laughed lightly. "I assume you're here for the Black Materia?"

"We are." Wedge said firmly. Biggs was too wrapped up in suppressing his rage to notice. 

"Ah." She nodded. "I'm not interested in that. I only came here to look things over. All those tourists can be quite destructive on these old monuments."

"A likely excuse!" Biggs spat. "Why would you be interested in maintaining the Temple? They have a historical society that does that. The tourists aren't even allowed in this area."

"I know. I have a personal interest in the Temple of the Ancients." She smiled at Cloud. "Carry on, please. I'm not stopping you."

Wedge and Yuffie started going on ahead, with Cloud sneaked behind them, trying very hard to be invisible. "Wait." Biggs said slowly. "This isn't adding up. Who's paying you to come here?"

"No one. I'm here on my own business."

"You mercenaries never do anything unless there's something in it for you. This kid said earlier that you were insisting that you be the one to get the Black Materia. Have you changed your mind that quickly?" Biggs challenged.

"I never said I was here for that. I just want to get to it to make sure that it's safe."

He eyed her sword and shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"Believe whatever you'd like. I'm not planning on hurting any of you."

Biggs shook his head again stubbornly, and then started after the others. "Come on. I want you to stay where I can see you until we leave."

"That's fine with me. Tell me, why are you all here? There's nothing of any use to Shinra in here."

"That's classified." Biggs grunted, pushing onward.  


	4. Chapter 3

_3_

The Shinra base in Junon was built during the Midgar/Wutai war very hastily and without much planning except for the installation of the Sister Ray. It was meant to stand solely as a symbol that yes, President Shinra did have a Mako cannon, and no, he was not afraid to use it. The base was intended to be dismantled immediately after the war's end, but since Shinra hadn't won the war, it remained and developed into a shantytown. 

It was in general, an undesirable place to live, unless you had to. Midgar at least had the myth of an upper class. Junon was filled with disheartened military personal and bounty hunters galore. It was a prime place for illegal activities, which the Shinra did little to stop since they profited from it somewhere along the line. It was a well-known fact that Junon was the worst place for a Shinra worker to be.

It was also well known that President Shinra was not fond of his son. 

Rufus Shinra stared impassively out the ocean view of his Junon office. It was due to the stupidity of the architect that this fixture was in place. The ocean was not a pleasant thing to look at on this end of the continent. There was little to see except pollution.           

His secretary approached the office cautiously, hesitant to disturb the vice president's solitude. In the past few weeks that he'd become much more irritable than usual, and her message would no doubt upset him further. "M-mister Vice President? There's a phone call for you on line four."

He didn't bother to turn around, but his tone was icy. "I thought I asked you not to disturb me."

She was very much afraid of him, not only because of his cold demeanor but also the shotgun she knew he carried underneath his jacket. She had only taken this job because her parents had gotten it for her, and she intended to quit very soon, if he didn't fire her first. He may very well, once she told him the identity of the caller. "I'm s-s-sorry sir, but it's your father." She stammered.

Rufus sighed. He had not spoken to his father since he'd sent him to Junon, and preferred to keep it that way. "Very well. I'll pick it up. Have you finished calling those shareholders?"

"No, sir. I'll have them done within the hour." She quickly went back to the sanctity of her desk, grateful to have finished the interaction without incident.

He flipped the button for line four. "Rufus Shinra here."

"Rufus m'boy! How are you doing?"  The president bellowed. He had an annoying habit of yelling into the phone. He did own half of the world, and he wanted people to know it.

"Why did you call here?" the young man said softly. No one had ever heard him raise his voice, unlike his father. 

"You've always skipped straight to the point. I like that. I trust your time in Junon has been well spent? I've been hearing glowing reports from the generals there." An awkward pause. Vince quickly got on with it. "I'm sure you've heard that the situation has been changing here. There's been these damn terrorist attacks by the these Avant-garde people, blowing up all the reactors-"

"Avalanche."

"Pardon?"

"Their name is Avalanche." He knew that too well.

"Yes... Well, the names not as important so much as the actions have been. I think that it would be better if you were to come back home. How would you like to come back to the HQ?"

He paused. Half of him was aching to go back to the city. He hadn't been there since his mother had died. It would be nice to be back among civilized people. He could see Reno again. But of course... It may be that his father was suspicious of him. He thought that he'd covered it up their tracks well enough though, but he should have remembered that it was difficult to hide anything from Shinra, from past experience.

"That would be fine. I suppose I don't have a choice?"

"I have already sent a helicopter. It should be there in two hours."

Two hours. That wasn't exactly ample time to prepare, not that he could change any of that. "Now, now, I hope that you've straightened yourself out from when we last saw each other. No more time in the Wall Market, right? This is an important time for us, and we need to maintain a suitable image. This is a family company after all and-"

Rufus laughed loudly. Outside, his secretary's hand knocked her phone off the desk involuntarily at the unfamiliar noise. "Please, enough of that. You're not sinless either, father. I do remember what happened to mother."

He could audibly hear his father suck in his breath on the other end of the line. "That isn't of your concern."

"She was my mother. I can hardly think of anything that's more of my concern than that."

"I've been lenient with you, Rufus, but perhaps you should have shot yourself when you had the chance and made it all easier on us all.  I can always get someone to take your place in his company."

The vice president placed the phone back into its cradle. It rang a second later. "Don't pick it up." 

His secretary popped her head into his office. "Sir?"

That woman infuriated him. Most of them did now. "There's been a change of plans. Inform my valet to pack for Midgar and have it done in a half hour."

"Are you leaving soon? Would you like me to cancel your inspection of the barracks tomorrow?"

"Do yourself a favor. Collect your pay for next week, and go home." He swiveled his chair to face her. She was confused, as always. "Your services are no longer needed."

"But-!"

He stepped up and passed her at the door. "And please, keep quiet on what you've done here. I don't need to tell you how important security is." 

She fell back into her chair half-relieved to be done with it. "Thank you, sir. I apologize for..."

"Stop. I don't care about any of that." His hand went under his jacket. The weight of his shotgun at his waist was reassuring. He would need it. Going to Midgar was like entering the lions' den.

*

_            "I'm so happy that you're home," she whispered. "It feels like forever since we've seen each other." _

_            He didn't smile back, his face clouded over with an emotion she couldn't read. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here. The President-"_

_            "It's alright." She wanted him to be happy, to reflect some of her own joy. "I'm just glad that you made arrangements before the mission. The midwife came right on time. Everything went fine."_

_            "I'll make this up somehow, I swear it." He shook his head, disgusted with himself. "I tried to explain to President Shinra that a man can't miss the birth of his first child, but Hojo was certain that it wouldn't be another week before-"_

_            "She, my dear. Don't call her 'it'. And stop talking in fragments, you're driving me crazy."_

_            "She, then. But she needs a name. We never managed to decide on one before I left."_

_            "Mmm…" She traced a finger across the sleeping baby's peaceful face. "She's perfect. So she needs a name that's perfect."_

_            He was thoughtful. "How about Lucrecia?"_

_            "I've never heard of that one before. Where did you come up with it?"_

_            "Heard it while I was with SOLDIER. I don't know what it means, but I thought that it sounded nice. What do you think?"_

_            "I like it! Her name is Lucrecia, then."_

_            "Lucrecia…" He went to the cradle, looking over his child. "She looks like you."_

_            She hesitated. He wasn't acting like he should. "You know, you never did tell me what you left to do."_

_            "It's…classified things. Something special President Shinra needed me for."_

_            She frowned, disapointed. "You can't tell me anything?"_

_            "It's not my place to say anything. But I do have some news for you," he added hastily, seeing her crestfallen expression. "The President wants us to move closer to the project. How would you like to move to Nibelheim?"_

Nibelheim.

_            "I don't know… Isn't that area a little unsafe? It's near Wutai. Most of the continent is theirs. Would they attack a Shinra base?"_

_            "President Shinra has guaranteed us that it's perfectly safe. And I won't let any harm come to you, or Lucrecia."_

_            "Alright…I trust you." _

She opened her eyes slowly. The Turk was scowling at her again. He'd be a much more attractive man if he stopped glaring at people all the time. Not that she was interested in such things. She hadn't been for some time.

"How can you be sleeping in a time like this?"

"Mmm…Well, It's very easy if you haven't slept in some time. There isn't very much going on for me, at the moment. I'm quite happy to let Shinra do the work of clearing this out." She smiled slightly, watching Cloud take a few shots at a large lizard    up ahead. "But why bring a tour guide with you? Certainly the Shinra's Turks can handle this on their own."

"She invited herself along. If she gets killed, it's not our responsibility."

"How very cavalier of you."

"Have you seen her?" He asked, completely missing her sarcasm. "I haven't heard that shrill voice for a while…"

Yuffie popped out from behind a pillar. "I'm right here! Did you miss me?"

"Not really. Didn't I tell you to stay by me-?"

"Umm…Excuse me, but it appears we've reached a dead end." Cloud piped up softly. He winced slightly at Biggs' sigh, apparently expecting another outburst like before. "There's just a pedestal, with nothing on it."

"Nothing? Let me see that…" He muttered, running forward down the hall. There were a number of murals on the wall. The last few seemed to have been painted hastily, all depicting a small black orb. At the end of the path was a stone pedestal with an empty, rounded space on top. "Are you certain?"

"Something may have been there once, but," Wedge shrugged, unconcerned with their lack of findings. "You know, people might have taken it before us. This place has been explored before."

"But President Shinra was so certain..." he mused.

"Well, it's not here, so let's go!" Yuffie yelled loudly. Biggs was looking at her strangely. "Don't look at me like that! You're freaking me out, guy…"

"Sorry," he muttered. No Black Materia. He wasn't sure what the President wanted it for, but he wouldn't be pleased that they were returning without it. He didn't have much of a choice. "Come one. There's nothing left to see here, and we need to report back."


	5. Chapter 4

_4_

"Watch it, Reno!" Elena shrieked. She was way too excited with this mission. It was fine when she was back in the bar, but they were trying to take on Shinra here. It wasn't as though any Shinra people were hanging around here, he thought, glancing around the reactor. It seemed weird that the only guards on patrol were the automated ones. He'd expected to see SOLDIER or something lined up and waiting for them, but there was nothing, not even a live security guard, just robots. Not that he was complaining. The good thing about robots were that you could get them down with one good Bolt spell, and it just so happened that he'd happened to stock his nightstick with a Lightening Materia before he'd left.

"Yes, I see it Elena!" he snapped, quickly casting one more Bolt spell. The robot, partially hidden in down the hall, sparked and collapsed. "God, take a tranquilizer or something. You're way too high strung."

"R-u-u-u-de!" She was whining again. He had no idea what Rude saw in her. She may have her own business and all, but it wasn't like it was even a good one.

"Reno, shut the hell up." Rude grunted, trying to bust open the lock on the security doors. "I need an extra person for this."

Elena sided over to him, sticking her tongue out at Reno. "I'll help"

"Real mature, Elena." He got to the end of the table. There were three switches. "That's it? We just have to push these in? You'd think the Shinra wanted us to blow up their reactor."

"Just try and push this thing down, okay? On the count of three. One...two...three!"

With a low beep, the doors opened. Reno looked around both ways. Nothing. "This is way too quiet."

"You're being paranoid. You watching way too many late night movies, you know. Just be glad that things are going well for us now." Elena whistled cheerfully. "There isn't much farther now."

"You're going to jinx it by talking about it like this."

"Don't be superstitious! God!" Elena smiled happily as Reno retreated into sullen silence. "We're almost to the end. I hope that Tseng's doing alright. It was nice of him to go and set up the bomb for us. Are we supposed to wait here for him?"

"No. He said to go on ahead." Rude glanced down the corner. "All clear."

Klaxons went off suddenly. They ducked behind the door. "What the hell happened?!" Reno shouted over the noise.

"You think they got Tseng?" Elena whispered fearfully.

"Jessie!" Reno yelled angrily. "That bitch set us up! I knew she was gonna-"

"Shh!" Rude said roughly. They fell silent and tried to watch the action.

...No action....

"Nothing's happening..." Elena whined. "Maybe the alarm went off as an accident or something. I think we can go. I really want to get home before the evening rush."

"Hang on, I think I see Tseng-"

"Get back!" Rude whispered suddenly. They fall back against the wall. Reno pushed forward to see.

Two men were in the foreground, both seeming completely oblivious to the action around them. One he recognized. Reeve Andrews, head of Weapons Research and Development . The other was someone he didn't know, but the suit spoke for itself. He was obviously Mafia affiliated. But what would someone like him be doing here? Shinra tolerated Mafia factions, so long as none of them started to infringe on their own power but the two groups weren't exactly buddies.

"Mr. Valentine?" Reeve spoke cautiously. "I hope you were able to get in alright? No trouble with security?"

A bored sigh came from Mr. Valentine. "Get to the point."

"The Don hasn't filled you in? Damn... I told them Corneo wasn't-"

"I don't have all night."

"Avalanche is here." Elena whimpered at this. Rude put his hand over her mouth and she quieted. "The Don said you have a personal interest in this group, and he wants to cement his relationship with Shinra. However, keep in mind that you are not an employee of Shinra Incorporated. Certain actions that may be permissible with your family are not here."

He smirked. "I understand, Andrews. Get on with it. What am I supposed to _do_?"

Reeve sneered. "That's Mr. Andrews to you. There's a man downstairs who the President wants. He must be taken alive, do you understand? Any slipups are not going to be dealt with lightly."

"I know..."

"You may want to take an alternate route back to the Headquarters. We're releasing a guard to take care of the rest of AVALANCHE. It's a weapon I've been wanting to try out for a while. The new cyber-SOLDIER!" The executive was suddenly boyishly enthusiastic. "All of the other execs have finally given their okay for the release. If all goes well...you'd probably want to avoid coming back up here. It'll wipe out any intruders, and you're not registered on the computers. We only care about their leader. He must be kept alive."

"Psycho killer robots..? Figures Shinra would come up with something like that." Reno muttered.

"Of course." Valentine sighed, loosening his tie. "What should I expect when I make it to this man you want so badly? How armed is he?"

"Well... Scarlet would know better than I would...But I'd just be prepared for him being dangerous. Best to be on the safe side."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. Reno snickered to himself. Both men turned to the hallway. "Did you hear something?"

Vincent looked at critically, sweeping over the area. "I didn't hear a thing."

"Really?" Reeve seemed personally offended by Valentine's omission. "Well... I suppose I should be going. I prefer to watch these weapons tests from afar. Much less messy that way. Report back to Scarlet when you're done. And remember-"

"I know... Bring him back alive." He smirked watching the exec walk briskly away. He reached for his holster, then glance at the hallway where AVALANCHE was hiding. Elena was breathing way too loudly. They were going to get caught, just like Tseng was...

There was a huge metallic bang from down the stairs. Vincent cursed and started running in the opposite direction. Rude peered down the hall. "He's gone."

"What was that?" Elena whispered sharply. "They're going after Tseng, aren't they? We've got to go help him! We can't just sit here and let the Shinra get him!"

"We can't do that." Reno said coldly. "We've got to get outta here. We'll figure out what to do about Tseng later."

"What?! You can't be serious!"

"Look, do you think Tseng would want us to be captured along with him? You heard that guy; they don't have any plans on keeping us alive. We need to get away before that robot soldier gets up here. Deal with it." He said roughly, pushing past the couple. "Well, lookee here..."

A huge robot lumbered down the hall, screeching loudly. It stopped once its sensors caught sight of Reno and immediately fired off a machine gun. He jumped out of the way to avoid it. "Rude! Cover me, alright?"

Rude shot a round, aiming for the head of the robot, but missing as it turned around after Reno. Behind him, he could see Elena throw something. He got to the floor as it exploded behind him. God, did she ever think?! Tossing a grenade around like that... He shook his head, trying to make that ringing stop. "Watch what you're doing Elena!"

"Sorry!" She chirped, already throwing another one. He covered his ears, and tried to outrun the spray of bullets the robot was sending out. Giving up on him, it turned around to face Elena and Rude. Perfect. He scanned the back of the robot, looking for any sort of vulnerable spot. He could try and make it short circuit with his nightstick.

Bingo. There was a small opening, giving off sparks erratically. Elena's grenades must have been on the mark then. That was a surprise. He ran forward and jammed it in, flicking the power switch up to the maximum. The robot jerked back then slumped forward, deactivated. He pulled his nightstick out and whipped at his forehead. "That wasn't so bad. Guess Reeve's loosing his touch."

"Umm...Reno?" Elena piped up. "What's that weird...ticking sound?"

"Oh, shit."

"Get down!"

The robot blew up in fiery explosion of metal and wires. Reno felt the floor crumble out from under him and reached around for something to hang on to. His hands came upon the remains of a staircase railing. He coughed, waiting for the dust to clear. Elena was shrieking like a moron. "Reno! Reno, are you alright? Where are you!?"

"I'm right here!" he looked up. The group was separated by a large chasm. He didn't want to look down, since he was pretty sure that he would be able to see clear to the slums. From the looks of the railing, it wasn't going to hold for long. "Umm...a little help here?"

Rude shook his head, holding Elena back. "I don't think there's anything we can do."

"Dammit!" he strained to see if there was anything else to grab on to. Nothing. It was hopeless. "You guys should go find some other way out then... Don't let them do anything to Tseng! If you do, I'll come back and haunt you forever." He grinned wryly.

Rude gave a ghost of a smile, which only emphasized how pale he was looking. "Good luck then."

"Yeah. Right back at ya."

The rail shrieked and snapped. Reno suddenly realized that for the first time in a very long time, he really was afraid.


End file.
